When I talk to people about learning how to fly fish the first question they ask is: "Is it difficult to cast?"
The cast feels different but not hard, and all it takes is a little practice. The hard part is putting the fly in front of the fish so it looks natural. I started to learn how to fly fish by reading a book. When I was ready to try casting, I took the book out on the lawn and tied myself in knots.
"Fly Fishing for Beginners "
is an book you can download online with all the basics you need to start. It comes with 101 Fly Fishing Tips for Beginners, a video so you can see how to tie a streamer fly and "The Complete Angler". The last one, "The Complete Angler" is considered one of the first books about fly fishing and was written back in the 1800's.
One thing is for certain, you need to keep your line wet to catch fish....
Fly Fishing in 30 Seconds or Less
The concept of fly fishing is to use the fly rod and line to present a lure(fly)to a fish with no unnatural movement. As the fly "drifts" to the fish your job is to use the rod and line to keep it from leaving a wake.
If the fly floats on the surface of the water it is considered a dry fly. Most of these flies imitate the adult form of an aquatic or terrestrial insect. If the fly sinks it is considered a wet fly (nymph) and is tied to imitate the larva or pupa of the aquatic insects.